Trae Young Couldn’t Believe His $25,000 Fine For Celebrating By Throwing A Ball Into The Stands

The Atlanta Hawks picked up a badly-needed home win on Sunday evening. The Hawks needed overtime and a buzzer-beater from rookie AJ Griffin to defeat the Chicago Bulls, but the victory came on the heels of six losses in eight games, and Atlanta’s roster was in a celebratory mood after the positive result was secured. That included star guard Trae Young celebrating with a relatively typical action and, on Monday evening, he was fined $25,000 by the NBA for what transpired. In short, the fine was assessed “for throwing the game ball into the spectator stands,” and Young immediately lamented his punishment.

This is a funny reaction for Young, who will miss Atlanta’s game in Memphis on Monday with low back tightness. It’s also a reaction that seems justifiable, especially if he actually didn’t know he couldn’t do that and, in his words, he believes players “can’t celebrate sh*t anymore.”

Of course, the other side is that the league probably doesn’t love this reaction from a superstar within minutes of a public fine. It isn’t as if $25,000 is life-changing money for Young, though, and this is a window into what his natural response likely was less than 24 hours after a memorable victory.